The field of the invention is fishing lures, specifically lures that can automatically maintain a certain distance from the surface of a body of water or automatically maintain a certain distance from the bottom of a body of water.
An important part of fishing is the art of presentation. Anglers attempt to consistently present their bait or lure in areas where fish are most likely to be located, in order to increase the opportunity to catch more fish. Typically game fish will be located near baitfish that serve as a source of food. Baitfish find safety from predators by suspending in a school or relating to structure. Predatory fish either suspend near schools of baitfish or swim near structure, especially depth changes, so as to better ambush their prey. Knowing this predatory fish behavior, anglers use various approaches and tools to present their lures to fish suspended at a certain depth, or have their lures follow a changing bottom contour in order to catch fish relating to the change in depth structure.
Today anglers have a variety of manual tools and associated approaches at their disposal to aid in improving the presentation of their lure. Anglers use devices such as maps of lakes, Global Positioning Service (GPS) devices, and on-shore landmarks to help them position their boat. Anglers have speed tools such as gas motors, electric motors, wind socks, and anchors to help them adjust the speed of their presentation. Anglers also have depth tools such as sonar depth finders. Finally, anglers have tackle tools such as the type and thickness of line (mono, lead-core, braided, super-braided, etc.), the amount of line let out in the water, and the amount and size of weights.
One of the most difficult challenges an angler faces is to make selections of these tools that together will make the presentation of his or her lure in front of the fish at the right depth. It is important to note that selections are made in an ever-changing environment. Wind speed and wind direction change, boat direction changes, line selection may change, and water depth changes. The angler""s ability to select and use the right combination of tools in making a successful presentation is what typically differentiates successful anglers from unsuccessful anglers.
It would be desirable for an angler to have a lure that is smart about presentation, that is, a lure that automatically adjusts to environmental factors such as speed, line type, water depth, etc., in order to maintain a predetermined distance from either the surface or the bottom of the body of water. Various water depth monitoring devices have been available, examples of which are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,009 to Altmire et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,538 to McGuire et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,930 to Langer. However, there are no known lures in the prior art that have the ability to automatically adjust in order to operate at a predetermined desired distance from the surface or the bottom, regardless of changing conditions.
The invention contains a means (preferably a transducer) for determining the distance from the lure to the surface or the bottom of the body of water, a means (preferably a microprocessor chip and special micro-code) for receiving distance signals and determining necessary auto-adjustment instructions, a means for varying the depth of the lure (preferably a mechanical lip controlled by the microchip, which sends commands to adjust the size and pitch of the lip), a means (preferably a battery) to power the lure components, and a means for specifying the distance from the surface or the bottom that the lure should run (this could be either a predetermined factory setting or an angler-operated distance selector on the lure).
The object of the invention is to solve the presentation problem by providing a smart self-adjusting lure that is able to automatically maintain a desired distance from the surface or from the bottom of a body of water.